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NASA hopes to send a probe to Alpha Centauri in 2069
If you thought NASA was playing the long game with its plan to put people on Mars in the 2030s, you haven't seen anything yet. New Scientist has learned that a team at the administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has started planning a mission that would send a spacecraft to the Alpha Centauri system in... 2069. Yes, that's 52 years away, and timed around the 100th anniversary of Apollo 11's trip to the Moon. The probe would look for signs of life around the potentially habitable exoplanet Proxima b, giving humanity a much better look than it could get with observation from home.
ESO will upgrade its Very Large Telescope to hunt for exoplanets
The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope is getting an upgrade. ESO signed an agreement with Breakthrough Initiatives, a program created to search for extraterrestrial intelligence, to modify its infrared instrument called VISIR (VLT Imager and Spectrometer for mid-Infrared). Once it's done, the observatory in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile will easily be able to spot exoplanets in the Alpha Centauri. According to ESO, the astronomers' discovery of a habitable planet in our neighboring star system late last year "adds even further impetus to this search."
NASA is helping Stephen Hawking get a tiny ship to Alpha Centauri
NASA is helping Stephen Hawking and Russian venture capitalist Yuri Milner with the monumental task of getting a tiny probe to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to Earth. Project Starshot aims to propel a lightweight silicon "StarChip" to one-fifth the speed of light by hitting it with lasers from Earth, getting it to the star within 20 years. The space agency will help solve one of the thorniest problems -- the intense radiation of interstellar travel.
Scientists want to send a telescope to photograph Alpha Centauri
It used to be that if NASA didn't want to do something, it didn't get done, but we're a long way from those days. The agency doesn't believe that there's currently enough value in sending a probe to seek out new life forms and new civilizations in Alpha Centauri. But a consortium of private science nonprofits disagree, and are looking to send their own space telescope to snap our nearest neighbor. They've united together under the name Project Blue and hope to raise enough money to circumvent NASA and do it off their own backs.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: The Tesla Model S gets an upgrade
The Tesla Model S is one of the highest-rated electric cars ever, and it just got even better. This week the automaker rolled out an upgrade that gives the vehicle a bigger battery, a refreshed exterior and a "bioweapon defense mode." Meanwhile, the Solar Impulse sun-powered airplane is getting set to fly across the Pacific Ocean after a lengthy stop in Hawaii. Stephen Hawking teamed up with Russian billionaire Yuri Milner on a plan to send postage-stamp sized spaceships to Alpha Centauri in search of life. IKEA announced plans to launch a chainless bicycle later this year, and a popular new bike/stroller hybrid hit the market only to sell out in a matter of hours.
'Starshot' plan gets probes to Alpha Centauri in your lifetime
The concept of exploring other star systems with probes (and not just telescopes) has proven elusive for one good reason: even the fastest spacecraft would take 30,000 years just to reach Alpha Centauri, our closest neighboring star. However, investor and space project enthusiast Yuri Milner thinks it's possible to do better. He and physicist Stephen Hawking have launched Breakthrough Starshot, a $100 million program that aims to get probes to Alpha Centauri within a generation. If all goes well, the observers would reach the relatively close-by system (4.4 light years away) within 20 years of leaving Earth.
GOG is hosting a 'Shutdown Promo,' selling select games for 50% off
The US government shutdown is bad news for furloughed workers, but when it comes to video games, it's apparently a convenient excuse for an impromptu sale! GOG is currently holding what it calls the "Shutdown Promo," and has slashed prices on a bunch of great games. The pack includes a total of seven games, three of which are Mac compatible, and all of which are currently half price. Among the Mac-flavored content is Theme Hospital, Alpha Centauri and (comically) the Redneck Rampage collection. If you happen to have a Windows machine (or a fancy Boot Camp installation) you can take advantage of the price cuts on Tropico Reloaded, The Guild: Gold Edition, Capitalism Plus and Capitalism 2. If you happen to be one of the unfortunate furloughed government employees, you can email GOG with a photo of you holding your temporary lay-off notice and receive the entire collection for free. [via Joystiq]
Good Old Games sympathizes with furloughed workers, offers free games
Furloughed workers of America, Good Old Games feels your pain. You're home, not necessarily getting paid, and you may be running out of land to explore in Grand Theft Auto V's vast expanses. Luckily, they've got a massive library of games waiting for you, and they're making a bundle of 'em free between now and this Friday. Snag free copies of The Guild: Gold Edition, Capitalism, Capitalism 2, Tropico: Gold Edition, Alpha Centauri, Alien Crossfire, Theme Hospital, and Redneck Rampage by sending in "your picture holding the official furlough letter you received" to (the sarcastic, though potentially offensive) thanksobama@gog.com. For us non-government employees, those games are all on sale for 50 percent off for the next 24 hours. Not too shabby either!
GOG.com hosts big summer sale, including lots of cheap Mac games
GOG.com has launched a huge summer sale today, with over 500 games available for very cheap and more changing in and out every day. I'm mentioning it here because the site has a big Mac section with classic games like Dungeon Keeper, Syndicate and even the great System Shock 2 all on sale for less than US$5 each. Alpha Centauri is one of my favorite games ever, and it's also on sale, as is the recent indie success FTL: Faster Than Light. GOG is even offering the excellent dungeon crawler Torchlight for the low, low price of completely free, so definitely grab that and play it if you haven't yet. The big sale lasts through July 5, and there will be more titles in the mix as the event goes on, so stay tuned for more great games to play on your Mac this summer.
Sid Meier likes the Wii
During an interview with Shacknews, Sid Meier talked up tons of topics, however all we care about is what he had to say about the Wii. Apparently, he has had a turn with the console and from what he played (Excite Truck and Wii Sports Tennis, to be exact), he liked.Shacknews: What are your thoughts on the Nintendo Wii? Do you think it will offer exciting new game play possibilities, or do you see it as more of a flash in the pan? Sid Meier: I just attended a demonstration of the Wii and it's a very fun system. We played Tennis and Excite Truck and had a blast. The controller is definitely a unique approach and is pretty intuitive. It won't work for all games, but it makes lots of sense for games that require individual character movements (like tennis, baseball, sword fighting, driving etc.).
